A 'faithful' moment...

...oh, and just so you don't think I'm that good - it's not MINE - the moment belongs completely and wholly to God.

We're watching God provide in so many big ways but the main story for today is a smaller one. Yet, for me it feels huge. Something along the lines of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. God reminding me that he sees. He cares. He provides....in lots of ways...if I will notice.

The story may be a wee bit disjointed but if you follow through to the end - the lines DO connect.

It begins with the house we are staying in. We are house-sitting. In my shift to make it home for us by moving some of their things out and placing ours 'in', I discovered the family has a crockpot. A small one but still - A CROCKPOT. I haven't seen one of these babies in ages. Ooooohhhhhh - I was so darn excited. I cooked a roast the first time I could. Had to figure out where to get the meat first but that accomplished, I set about putting that thing to use! I've enjoyed making soups, salsas, beans, granola, the roast, and many more things.

I remember this - put in ingredients in the morning - smell it cooking all day and VOILIA, you have a fabulous dinner with little effort! When you remember that 99% of our cooking is done from scratch and by hand the time factor saved with using this crockpot has been like being handed a vacation. :) VERY fun.

So - enter 'new year's resolutions' and 'make plans for future needs'.

First we'll start with 'new year's resolutions'. De-cluttering. It's big anyway this time of year but then on a homeschooling forum I'm part of, it's gained new fame through our own version of The Flylady. Each day has a de-cluttering challenge and off we go! Now, having just moved internationally AGAIN I honestly don't have that much to de-clutter, but living in someone else's house I do have some work to do in making it our own. So I'm doing a version of the project.

BUT - the kicker here is, so is my friend and co-worker, JAMIE.

Now to part 2 - 'make plans for future needs' - don't laugh. I am starting a list. IF and WHEN this is where God calls us there will be some things we need to invest in, look for, replace, on and on we go. Normally we do this when in the states because frankly, things are so much less expensive there and the quality is better.

SO - guess what little item got put on my list? A crockpot. I know we won't live here forever and the family will eventually want their house AND the crockpot back, so yes, I put a crockpot on my list.

As we're praying about 'future plans' and me writing down my 'list' I got to musing...'Okay Lord, I DO think this would be a great help in my kitchen work.' So I put down crockpot. Then I thought - 'Well....IF I'm going to choose a crockpot, what would I want in it?? Size, shape, power, lid, on and on.' Actually I didn't get that far. I went so far as to say - 'I would like it bigger, more of a flat, oblong shape instead of the cylindrical type... I like the glass lid and color well...anything EXCEPT blue - probably red or black as those are my favs.' That's about it.

Okay, off to the next thing and I didn't think about it again 'till a week or so later. I was over visiting with Jamie and in the conversation it came up that in her decluttering she found a crockpot she was going to get rid of!!! My ears and eyes perked up and I said, "I'LL BUY IT FROM YOU!! PLEASE!!!" She said, "Sure", and again...off we went with life and all that.

Last weekend we were at her house for church and she said, "Let me get that crock pot for you!" "YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!", I inwardly screeched. She pulls one out and I kid you not - it was oval, big, and black with a glass lid. I don't think I screamed out loud at her house...but I can't remember because I was a bit beside myself. :)

Sometimes pictures of God's faithfulness and gifts to us are big ones.

Sometimes they are small little things like crockpots wrapped up in the dreamy package you only imagined they could be.

So the challenge today is to think of the little things that God sends your way to show you that he does care for you more than the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I would LOVE to hear your stories.

Abrazos,

Faith